NC State Theme Release 4.13

Release Highlights

Post Summary Block

The Post Summary block provides a quick overview of a post, making it easier to skim and understand at a glance. By adding context beyond the headline, it improves clarity, captures interest and helps keep readers engaged.

Featured People Block

The Featured People block makes it easy to highlight individuals with a headshot, name, title and optional link. While commonly used for a single person, it also supports multiple profiles—perfect for showcasing a team or group.

Thumbnail Gallery Block Improvements

The Thumbnail Gallery block received a much needed styling update with this release. Thumbnails are now larger, more distinct, and the block takes up more grid space.

Smart Search (Beta)

Smart Search is now available for testing on sites running the NC State Theme. This update should provide an improved search experience. This feature is currently in beta, so ongoing changes are expected. In a later theme release, sites will be encouraged to adopt Smart Search functionality when it is no longer in a beta release.

Other Features

• Author Archive pages now display an image and bio. (#386)
• Taxonomies can be reordered by adding an order number before the slug. (#393)
• Non-Credit Program Archive can toggle between linking to the provided link or the generated single page. (#395)
• Mobile submenus no longer show empty links (using #) as subpages. (#407)
• Calendar+ plugin support added. Further development will depend on usefulness. (#411)
• Gravity Forms Conversational Forms Add-on now supported. (#413)
• Content Audit CSV Export now includes publish status on a post or page. (#415)
• No-index toggle added for Pages and Posts: editors can request search engines not to index a page. (#417, #429)
• Sidebars now show the second-level navigation item as their title for third-level options and deeper. (#419, #428)
• Archive Pages now allow setting the number of filters, including zero. (#424)

Quality of Life Enhancements

• Removed unused imports and variable declarations from block JavaScript files. (#391)
• Removed the iModules section from the Legacy Functionality Audit Tool (past redirect cutoff). (#394)
• Moved the last of the Pro and Premium blocks into the main Theme code base. (#398)
• Updated Content Card to use the LinkControl component (replacing the old URL input). (#405)
• Custom Post Type Archives rewritten with their own styles and now use the Grid for layout. (#412, #426)
• Improved Dashboard HUD caching and page load speed. (#418)
• Rebuilt Newswire Feed Block to replace ServerSideRender. Also added caching, and created a custom WP API endpoint. (#420)
• Changed how ACF metafields save: empty values are no longer stored in the database. (#421)

Bug Fixes

• Removed hardcoded focus-within class from templates. (#382)
• Archive Filters no longer scroll the page to the top; updated to new accordion code. (#391)
• Fixed Courses and Non-Credit Archive links (now point to CPT Singles). (#403)
• Fixed misaligned Facts in the Split Content block. (#404)
• Disabled H1 option in the core Heading block (no longer available). (#406)
• Contact Us block icons now display as they should (not just the email icon). (#408)
• Fixed extra spacing above Flickr embeds. (#414)
• Fixed Big Fact Block styling when used with a sidebar (now adjusts to narrower width). (#416)
• Fixed missing spacing inside InnerBlocks <p> tags. (#422)

Full release notes can be found in GitHub. If you do not have but would like access to these technical release notes, please email wordpress@help.ncsu.edu.